Arizona scraps vaccine education program after parent complaints

Arizona officials cancelled a statewide vaccine educational program after it received negative feedback from parents who oppose immunizing their children, according to azcentral.com.

The vaccine educational program was a pilot online course that replicated similar programs in Oregon and Michigan. Arizona created the program in response to a rising number of Arizona children skipping required immunizations required by the school.

Some parents said they were worried about the course becoming mandatory for their children. A group of 120 individuals, including 20 parents who indicated they don't vaccinate their children, filed a complaint about the course to the state's Regulatory Review Council. The council questioned the health department about the case, which ended up canceling the program, according to internal emails cited by azcentral.com.

Brenda Jones, immunization services manager at the Arizona Department of Health Services, said the program received "a lot of political and anti-vaxx" feedback in an Aug. 14 email to two other health department employees.

"I'm not sure why providing 'information' is seen as a negative thing," Rep. Heather Carter, R-Cave Creek, who helped create the pilot program, told azcentral.com. "Providing information doesn't take away a parent's choice to seek an exemption. ... This is a major concern. Vaccines have saved lives for generations. We all want to live in safe and healthy communities."